The Doctors
by Flying Penguinz
Summary: With Rory trapped inside, the TARDIS flies itself to the parallel universe with Rose and Ten's human duplicate. With the help of River Song, Eleven and Amy travel to meet Rory to find temporal disturbance that excites the Doctor. Old and new friends collaborate to investigate the severe case of temporal disturbance, though they have to be careful for the sake of time and space.
1. The TARDIS

**This is just something I decided to do.**

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><p>"Rory!" the Doctor yelled from outside the locked TARDIS door. "You're going to have to fly the TARDIS! She'll keep you within this year; you just have to do what she tells you."<p>

The sound of the TARDIS lifting off was getting louder and Rory was desperately trying to unlock the door of the police box. "I can't _fly_ the TARDIS, Doctor!"

"You have to, Rory!" shouted Amy. "We'll find you again."

"What if I don't land on earth?"

"You will," the Doctor said; Rory heard the sound of the Sonic. "There. I locked her coordinates to earth, I just don't know where you'll be exactly. Once you get there, you'll need to call me from ins—"

And Rory felt the TARDIS lift off the ground and begin to spin.

"_You can do it, Rory!_" Amy and the Doctor yelled together.

And then the mechanical sounds of the TARDIS reached a point where Rory could no longer hear himself.

"Um… TARDIS!" he said loudly, running up the stairs to the control panel. "WHAT DO I DO?"

A female voice came from the little screen above the typewriter. "Don't worry, Rory Williams," it said calmly. Rory seemed to be hearing the sound of her voice from inside his head rather than on sound waves that traveled a few yards. "I'll take you where you need to go. Just do exactly what I tell you."

After the TARDIS directing him on which buttons to push and which levers to pull, the police box made the familiar parking sound and the female voice said kindly, "Earth, Rory Williams," and vanished.

Rory went to the door and undid the lock; it clicked opened easily. He stumbled out of the TARDIS and felt a cool salty breeze welcome him to… wherever he was.

There was a woman with blonde hair of medium length sitting on a park bench. She was sipping from a cup of coffee and looked at Rory as if she had been waiting for him. The blonde lowered her cup and stared at him over the rim until he reached her. She was wearing pink gloves that revealed the tips of her polished fingernails, a blue-colored pea coat, tight black pants on legs that were crossed delicately, and black heels that tapped a slow rhythm.

"Well?" she said with a smile, raising her head expectantly at him. She placed the cup on her lap with her hands wrapped around it to warm them. "Gonna tell me what happened?"

His face twisted into a confused mask. "Uh—what?"

She got up and held out her hand. Rory moved forward to shake it. "Rose Tyler. I received a message on the Psychic Paper." Rose pulled out a small, crumpled piece of paper from her coat pocket with _Meet Rory Williams at Council Park 4:38 p.m., September 5, 2011 –Signed, the TARDIS _written on it in neat, printed letters and showed it to him.

"You've got some explaining to do," she said, brushing a piece of hair out of her face. "That's not your little blue box."

Rory put up his hands defensively as Rose went to take a sip from her coffee. "I swear, I didn't steal it. Someone locked the Doctor and Amy out of the TARDIS and I had to fly it here."

Rose's eyebrows furrowed and she lowered her drink. "Oh, I know you didn't st—you can fly the TARDIS?" she asked curiously.

"No, no, she helped me, the TARDIS."

Rose broke into a kind smile. "No need to look so worried, Rory," she said, giving him a playful punch on the arm. He relaxed a little. "Right. Cheers," she said, standing and finishing off her coffee and throwing the empty cup into a bin. "C'mon. Any friend of the Doctor's is a friend of mine. I know someone who can help." She was just a head shorter than him, but she seemed so confident that Rory wouldn't have noticed.

Rory looked around Council Park. It was still early autumn; leaves were just beginning to yellow and the sky was partly overcast. Rory had never been in this park before.

_Where am I?_

"You coming?" Rose was ahead a few meters and was looking back at him.

"Oh, right, yeah," Rory muttered, and he caught up to Rose easily.

"Our flat's not far from here," she said. "Just a few blocks up that way," she nodded ahead of them. "It's cozy. My mum and dad and little brother live there. And… a friend."

Rory stopped abruptly and Rose turned. "Why am I here?" he asked. "Why _here_ specifically?"

Rose closed the space between them and weaved her arm through the crook of Rory's. "Don't worry, Rory Williams," she said kindly. "I'm a friend of the Doctor's."

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><p><strong>There will be a chapter two. <strong>


	2. The Other Doctor

**Sorry it's been so long since the last update. I've been doing other things.**

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><p>Rose unlocked the door to her flat and said sunnily, "Home!"<p>

"_Rose!_" someone with just as happy a voice called from within. "Did you bring the cookies?"

Her smile grew. "No, but I've got something better."

A tall, skinny man in a blue suit and messy hair walked into the den with a smile on his face. His expression faltered when he saw Rory, however. "Who's this?" he asked. Then he seemed to have realized something because he said, "_Oh!_ You're the Rory on the Psychic Paper, aren't you?" He seemed very excited to be meeting Rory. "We've been waiting quite a while." He reached out and shook Rory's hand.

Rose was taking off her coat and hanging it on a stand with another long trench coat when she said, "It's been a long time since we've had anything to do with time travel."

"Yes," the scraggly man said wistfully, sitting in an armchair and grabbing a crossword, though he didn't look down at the puzzle. He kept hold of Rory's own with his pleasant one. "How's my TARDIS doing, then, eh? Is she running smoothly? Did he update the interior? Are there more flashing light thingies? I love flashing light thingies. Did I finally buck up the courage to try out a cape?" The man spoke a thousand words a minute and it vaguely reminded Rory of someone. "I've always wanted a cape," he said, grinning at Rose. She smiled back and went into the kitchen. The man started on his crossword.

"_Your_ TARDIS?" Rory asked, not bothering with a Hello. "It's not _your_ TARDIS."

"It most certainly is," said the man in the blue suit. "I'm the Doctor."

"You're _the Doctor_," Rory repeated with disbelief in his voice.

"Of course I am," he said and his eyes fixed on the crossword puzzle. "Oh, I must have regenerated," he called to Rose in the kitchen. "Bother. It would have been a lot more explainable if I hadn't regenerated. Well," he said to Rory, "what do I look like now?" he asked, glancing up. "Am I a _girl_? I've always wanted to know what I'd look like as a girl." He stopped, his eyes going wide. "_Am I ginger_?"

Rory stared. "No… but you travel with a ginger."

The Doctor barked a laugh, folding the newspaper neatly and putting it on a stand next to his armchair, forgetting about the puzzle. "Close enough." He took off his glasses and stood, running a hand through his hair. "So, what am I like, me? Am I handsome? Charming? Charismatic? No—don't answer that. I'll find out soon enough when he gets here—wait. He _is_ coming, isn't he? You didn't just steal the TARDIS, did you? No, no one could have stolen the TARDIS. She wouldn't have let you fly her," he said proudly. The Doctor smiled nostalgically. "She was such a good girl."

"I didn't steal her," Rory said quickly, "The Doctor and Amy were locked out of the TARDIS and the only way to get out was to leave them behind. I'm supposed to call—_I was supposed to call them!_" Rory smacked himself on the forehead and clutched at his hair. "How could I have been so _stupid_? I was just in the TARDIS." Rory turned a full circle and sank into a nearby chair across from the Doctor's. "I'm an idiot," he said, "a bloody idiot."

"Aw," the Doctor said, "come on, now. It's not the end of the world." He scoffed. "I would know. Anyway—"

"Use our phone," Rose said, poking her head out of the kitchen. "Oh, and you'd better stay for dinner. Mum'll be home with the groceries in a bit."

"I don't know the number," said Rory. "It's probably programmed into the Doctor's phone in the TARDIS."

"There's a phone in the TARDIS?" the Doctor asked happily. "How convenient. I'm clever, I am."

"But the TARDIS'll be locked," Rory added. The Doctor waved away the negative aspect.

"It's not a problem; don't ever think something as trivial as a locked door is a problem."

"But that's why I'm here in the _first_ place, Doctor." Rory stopped. He'd just called this man Doctor.

The Doctor also realized this. "You called me Doctor," he smiled.

"Well, you're not _really_ the Doctor—"

"Of _course _I'm the Doctor."

"Then how are there two Doctors at the same time?" Rory challenged.

The man sighed. "Well, it's a long story… Tenth me created a clone of himself which would be _me _me; Ten's clone—me—is human, meaning I can't regenerate; Ten me and _me_ me go on the TARDIS; Rose can't live without me again; I stay with Rose in Norway because I'm all human and non-Time Lord." He stopped for a breath. "That's about it. I think. I may be leaving out some key parts to that story, but I'm unsure of it yet. Anyway, the TARDIS is right where you parked it, isn't it?"

Rory nodded. He believed so. Or... at least he _hoped_ it was still there.

"Then it won't be any problem getting it unlocked."


	3. The Doctor Returns

Rose had decided to stay home because she said her mum would be there in just a bit, so Rory and the Doctor were the only two out in Council Park, spare a few children and their mothers.

The Doctor walked slowly and kicked his feet idly at little stones and went out of his way to hop onto larger piles of leaves that had accumulated by the wind blowing them together. His trench coat flapped behind him and his wild hair was ruffled in the slight breeze.

Rory watched him closely. In some ways, it wasn't hard to believe that this man was the Doctor—or _had been_ the Doctor. His childish ways reminded him of how Amy's Doctor acted much of the time.

"So, Rory," the Doctor said, meandering to Rory's side. "Who's Amy?" He threw Rory a quick glance and returned his gaze to leaf he was prodding with the toe of his Converse. "Is she… my companion?"

Rory crinkled his nose at the thought of Amy being the Doctor's… _companion_. Of course, he'd mentioned the word a few times and Rory had thought nothing of it then, but with this other Doctor saying it as if it were a word full of intimacy and—

"Amy's my _wife_," Rory said firmly. Did this Doctor just run around picking up girls and getting them to travel with him?

The Doctor stuck out his bottom lip and nodded as he contemplated this. "Sorry, mate," he said, running his hands through his hair. "Just wondering. What planet were you on when the TARDIS locked you inside?"

Rory shrugged and said, "Something called Gettunet."

The Doctor pursed his lips and scrunched his up face in concentration. "Gettunet… Gettunet… _Oh!_ The planet with all the little pink people," he said happily. "I love the little pink people."

Rory hadn't liked them at all; they were tiny, and their voices were too high-pitched for him to like them.

"Yeah, that."

"Did she like the planet? Amy?"

"Oh, yeah. She absolutely loved it." Rory remembered her trying to pick one up and play with them as if they were babies. Amy's red hair had fallen like curtains when she went to pick up the little pink things and her laugh filled Rory's mind.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until the Doctor stopped and spread out his arms. "Well? Where is she, the TARDIS? We've done a whole circle and I haven't even caught a glimpse of her blue paint. You know, you never forget a color like that. TARDIS blue..."

Rory hadn't noticed. He looked around and saw the bench where Rose had been waiting for him and his eyes swept over the scene.

No TARDIS.

Rory felt a pang of guilt and grabbed at his hair again. "I can't do this."

He sat on the ground and leaned against a cold tree. "I'm not cut out for this time traveling stuff," he said as if he were exhausted of it all. "I'm really not. Time traveling is more Amy's thing. I can't—I can't deal with this—saving people's lives, being careful not to change history, unintentionally changing history, saving the world…. What if we never get them back? What if I never get to see Amy again? What if I kill the Doctor—?"

The Doctor was standing over Rory, leaning against the tree with his hands in his pockets considering all of this. "Are you done yet?" he asked, sending Rory an _are you serious?_ look.

Rory rubbed his eyes and then sighed. "Fine."

"You couldn't kill me. Well… _other_ me. I'm sure other me—"

"Don't start," Rory warned. The Doctor quieted before he could start on another triad about _him_ him and other him.

The Doctor sat next to Rory, trying to seem companionable. There was a long pause before he asked, "Do you know how you got through?"

"Through what?"

"The parallel universe. Do you know how you got through?"

Rory looked at the Doctor strangely whose speech had slowed to the pace of a normal person and he was staring blankly into the distance.

"No," Rory said plainly.

"Bother."

The two sat like that for minutes on end and then the Doctor took in a breath and returned to his normal self.

"So, any idea where my TARDIS is?"

Rory gave the Doctor a disbelieving look that made the Doctor look away and become greatly interested in a particular leaf beside him. "Sorry," he mumbled. This Doctor was much easier to talk to than Amy's Doctor.

Suddenly, there was a loud popping sound and a cloud of smoke appeared a bit away from Rory and the Doctor.

Once the smoke cleared, Rory saw Amy and the Doctor lying unconscious on the ground exactly where the TARDIS had been parked. The Doctor—_Amy's _Doctor—sat up first, looking excited.

"Legs?" He wiggled a foot. "Wonderful. Arms—yes. Bowtie? Cool," and gave it a quick straighten. He pat his pockets and felt his head. "Oh, I've still got the hat," he said, lifting the top hat off his head for a moment and putting it back again. Rory was unable to overlook the fact that the Doctor was wearing a tuxedo, wearing a bulky looking watch, and holding a black cane. He looked at Amy who was beside him. "Amelia Pond. You there?"

Amy stirred at the mention of her name and Rory stood up and went to her side. "Amy?" he asked.

She opened her eyes and smiled at her husband. "Well, took you long enough," she said, sitting up and hugging Rory.

The Doctor noticed the other man standing in the corner with his hands in his pockets. "Oh," he said with the tone of surprise. "_Oh_. It's me!" He jumped up and looked up to the taller Doctor and grinned. "Hello, you handsome man. I sort of miss this look," he said, touching the tips of the other Doctor's hair gently.

Ten looked at Eleven with a half grin. "Still not ginger."

Eleven's smile widened. "No, still not ginger," he repeated. He brushed lint off Ten's shoulders and turned on his heels, pointing his cane at his first priority: the empty space where the TARDIS should have been and went to work observing the ground.

Amy stood up and Rory took her in his arms again.

"How'd you get here?" he asked, positively shocked at Amy's appearance.

"I—"

"Hello," Tenth said, breaking between them and shaking Amy's hand enthusiastically. "I'm the Doctor."


	4. The Defribullator

"Doctor," Amy said, looking around the blue-suited Doctor to the one in tweed. "What—_who_—is this?" she asked, allowing the taller man to continue pumping her hand enthusiastically.

"Well," the eleventh version of him said while gazing in awe at the Tenth Doctor, "he's me."

"You're serious?" she said, the question more like a statement.

The Doctor tore his gaze from the fluffy-haired man. "Absolutely."

"Um, Doctor," Rory interjected, wanting very badly not to have to break this news to the Doctor, "your TARDIS is gone."

"Yes, Rory, I do realize this," he said, losing his childish look of amazement and returning to the problem at hand. He spun back around and pointed his unneeded walking stick to the spot his blue box had been. "And just _who_lost it," he asked patronizingly. The cane was now jabbing Rory's chest and an upset Doctor was looking him in the eye.

Rory grimaced. "Sorry."

"How did you get here?" the Tenth Doctor asked seriously, turning round and facing Eleven. "This parallel universe is supposed to be closed off to time travel."

"Yes, funny thing about that," Amy's Doctor said without looking up from his surveying of the empty TARDIS spot. He held up his wrist with the bulky looking watch. "River is a genius."

"_No_," Ten said in an impressed whisper. A smile was creeping onto his face.

Eleven smirked and nodded. "Yes."

"A time-and-space fabric defribullator," Ten said, turning round as if to explain to someone who was usually by his side. "R— Oh, she's back at the flat."

Eleven paused and his two hearts seemed to stop. "Rose?"

Ten's smile faded as he looked at Eleven and then eyed him and his tweed suit, giving him a once-over.

Eleven held up his hands. "I'll behave. Promise."

Ten seemed to understand he was serious and he relaxed some.

"Doctor?" Amy asked and both looked at her with expectant expressions on their faces, waiting to hear her question. She gave Ten a _look_ and he quickly tried to find somewhere else to gaze that was not at Amy. "What are we going to do?"

Ten didn't try not listening in, though.

"If you want, the flat's just—" Ten started to say before a loud beeping interrupted him. His eyes fell to the light flashing on the Eleventh's Doctor's defribullator.

"Oh no," Eleven said, holding up his wrist trinket for all to see. "_Oh no_."

Amy and Rory looked at the thing strangely with almost the same blank expression. "What?" Amy asked, perturbed. "Can't we go home?"

"Of _course _not," Eleven said, clasping his hands behind his back and effectively hiding the defribullator from view. "My human version of my tenth self just invited us to go back to his home. Really, Amelia, where _are _your manners? Besides, I have some—um—_work _to take care of before we go and it'll take just a second to get done. I'll meet you all back at the flat."

With that, Amy's Doctor in tweed turned around, pointing his cane in the opposite direction and began walking that way, reading the time-and-space fabric defribullator as he went.

Both the Ponds looked up at the tall Doctor in the blue pinstripe suit, shifting uncomfortably. Ten smiled down at them excitedly.

"I guess it's just you and me then," he grinned. "Like being with me but not being with me—you know?"

"_Right_," Amy said, eyeing him mistrustfully.

Suddenly, Rory's phone was ringing in his pocket. His brows furrowed in confusion as he pulled it out of his pocket and read the caller ID.

_Melody Pond_.

"Um, Amy," Rory said, flipping open the device and bringing it to his ear. "It's our daughter."

Ten looked at a loss and mouthed to himself: _They have a daughter?_

"Hello, Dad," the woman on the other side said. "I presume the Doctor's already told you then?"

"Told us what?"

"There's another—" Static.

Rory pressed his finger in his other ear. "River?" Amy's eyes widened and she stepped closer to Rory, trying to listen to the phone conversation.

"—Somewhere out there. He can't—"

"River?" he said again, this time more pressingly.

"Or else the universe will—" More static. "Be caref—... Love you."

The phone on the other end was set down on its receiver and the line went dead.

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><p><strong>I'm so, so sorry that it's taken me forever to update, but I wasn't sure if this was going to be a three-shot or what. But anyway, it's definitely going to be longer now. Please review.<strong>


	5. The Interrogation

Rory closed the phone and Amy looked up at the tall Doctor, narrowing her eyes at him. Ten's own eyes widened as he pointed to himself and said, "_Me_?"

"Yes, you," she said angrily, advancing towards him with her index finger outstretched in his direction. "I need answers and I need them now." Rory bit his lip. Amy only did this when she was _very_ upset.

"What've I done?" Ten was soon backing into a bench and was forced to fall back on it, trying to press himself as far as he could into the wood to get away from the fiery ginger.

For the sake of being a united front, Rory joined Amy who was standing over the Doctor threateningly.

"You seem to be getting off on this!" she said loudly. "In just _what_ universe are _you_ the Doctor?"

"Well, a parallel one—" he began to mutter, but Amy wasn't done yet.

"What's happened to the Doctor—why has he run off without us? Where _exactly _are we, and?"

Rory nodded in agreement with his spouse, his face set in what he hoped was complete determination to find out these answers.

"Uh—I just— You know—"

"Doctor!" a familiar voice called out. Rory heard running footsteps. It was that Rose woman who had greeted him when the TARDIS landed. "Oi! What're you doing to him?" she demanded when she saw the threatening position Amy and Rory had taken in front of the Doctor.

"Rose!" Ten said cheerily despite all the spluttering he'd been doing before.

"What's going on here?" Rose asked once she reached them, hands on her hips. She looked at Amy strangely. "Who're you?"

"I'm Amy," she said firmly, mirroring Rose's aggressive stance in the way she crossed her arms over her chest. "And I need to know exactly what's going on before anything happens here."

"My wife," Rory interjected, pointing at Amy when Rose's confusion didn't clear from her face.

"How did you get here?" she asked, dropping her defensive tone and turning to wonder. "This universe is supposed to be cut off from time traveling."

Amy waved it away. "Fabric defillibrator or something like that. Look, who are you and where's _our _Doctor and _what _are we doing here?"

The Doctor stood and took a place next to Rose and became thoughtful. "Causally linked, perhaps. The TARDIS needed to bring you here. Most likely because of us," he said, smiling down at Rose.

"I used to travel with the Doctor," Rose said, grinning back up at him. "Your Doctor, that is. But... _things_ happened and—"

"And I'm here!" Ten finished happily, holding up his right hand as if it was supposed to be representative of something.

Rose explained. "His hand had been cut off which he had saved in a little container earlier, and then when the TARDIS was being dumped into an incinerator, the hand regenerated but with the hand came the body."

Amy and Rory looked no less confused, but acceptance was spreading across their features, their suspicion slowly disappearing.

"So you _actually_ were the Doctor," Amy asked.

"Well, for a while. Then he dropped me off here with Rose, Jackie, and Pete. Now there's a baby!" he said happily.

"Wait, _you_—" Rory started, looking at Ten and Rose with wide eyes.

"Mum's," Rose interjected. "It's Mum's."

"...Babies eat an awful lot," the Doctor mumbled, almost to himself.

Amy's jaw unset. "Where's our Doctor gone off to?"

Now Rose was the one to look confused. "Your Doctor? He's here?"

"Yeah," Rory said. "But he's run off to do some 'business' with his frillistrator."

Rose's lips twitched. "Th—that wasn't a euphemism, was it?" she asked Ten.

He laughed, "No, it's a real thing—the _fabric defribullator_. There's some temporal disturbance and I think he's gone to find out what it is."

"Well then," Rose said, becoming serious again. "You're welcome to stay at the flat while your Doctor's getting into trouble."

Amy frowned and Rory could tell she was worrying about the Doctor.

"That'd be lovely," Rory said, taking Rose up on the offer. He sent Amy a look that said something along the lines of _Play nice_, and she responded with what Rory read to be a sarcastic _I always play nicely._

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><p>The flat was much smaller with Jackie, Pete, Rose, Ten, the baby, Rory, and Amy. Everyone was standing around awkwardly with Jackie sharing space with Rory and Amy on the couch. Rory and Amy had been offered tea which they had politely accepted, though Amy had eyed it suspiciously before following after Rory and sipping from the mug.<p>

"Thank you for having us," Rory said, breaking the awkward silence.

People shifted uncomfortably and Jackie gently bounced the sleeping baby.

Rose stirred. "What's it like?" she asked thoughtfully. "I mean traveling with him. With the new Doctor."

Amy surveyed her and then replied calculatedly, "Amazing." She softened a bit and smiled to herself.

Rose returned the small smile. Both women were caught up in memories of the Doctor—of running, of chasing, of saving…

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and everyone seemed to jump into action at once. Jackie stood, cradling the baby in her arms, and Pete moved to open the door. Ten and Rose stood at attention and, while everyone looked away, Rory and Amy scooted closer together in order to feel more secure.

The door opened and the Doctor—Amy and Rory's Doctor—was standing in the doorway with a huge grin on his face.

"Temporal disturbance is my _favorite_!" he said, stepping into the room without permission.

Amy and Rory stood as the Doctor made the intent to sit on the couch clear. He sprawled himself out on the sofa and kicked his feet up onto the cushions, but soon seemed to realize his mistake. Eleven sat up, looking from Jackie to Pete to the baby in their arms and got up to shake their hands.

"Jackie!" he shouted, but then quieted after he remembered the baby sleeping. "And Pete!" he said in a hushed voice, moving to pump his hand enthusiastically. "And baby!" He moved back to the child and touched the top of its head before twirling around and looking at Rose.

The Doctor suddenly went quiet and still (a rare occurrence). Ten seemed to tense. Eleven moved slowly toward the blonde who had met Rory in the park with a strange look in his eyes.

"Rose," he said when he reached her, holding out a hand to her. "It's been quite a while."

"So you're the new Doctor?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yep, that's me. Number eleven. New and improved. Oops, sorry, you," he said, pointing at Ten. "I forgot who I was speaking about in _present company_," he stage whispered to the rest of the room.

Ten laughed at him, but the laughter was cut short as another knock sounded from the front door.

"Oh, yes," Eleven said, spinning around and looking at the door. "That would be…" He turned the handle and pulled the door open slowly, carefully. "Ah! River! Now you can meet everyone!"

He pulled the door open wide and, in a grand gesture, presented his wife to everyone.

"Hello," River said, coming into the already cramped living space. She didn't seem as pleased as the Doctor to see everyone. "I'm Professor River Song, as I'm sure you are aware," she said, her eyes going to the tallest man in the room wearing the pinstriped blue suit.

Ten had gone strangely silent and was staring at the woman strangely. "No," he whispered. "No—you… you can't be."

River smiled. "Oh, but I can." Amy had the feeling that they weren't talking about the same thing. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Eleven pat Ten gently on the shoulder and bring a finger to his lips, a quiet plea for Ten's silence. "So, Doctor," River continued as she took a place on the couch, "three versions of you in the same place… I say we evacuate before this ends with a black hole digesting this universe."

"Wait," Amy said, sure she couldn't have heard right. "_Three_ of you?"

The Doctor had the decency to look slightly abashed when he replied, "Well… I suppose _technically_ there are really only _two_ of m—"

"_Oh_, he hasn't told you yet?" River asked coyly, looking at Eleven and giving him a look that should not have had to be seen by her parents. "You naughty boy."


	6. The Beginning

"Told us _what_?" Amy asked, turning to her Doctor and taking on a tone of serious with no room for joking. The Doctor liked to call it her 'butt-kicking voice.' Her hands crossed over her chest and she shifted her weight to one leg, her hip jutting out dangerously. One eyebrow was raised at her son-in-law and the man under her gaze had the decency to look ashamed.

The Doctor cleared his throat, looking anywhere but into her eyes. "Um, well, yes." He shot a look at River.

River threw up her hands, losing a slight touch of her playfulness. She then kicked one leg over the other and leaned back into the couch, avoiding the Doctor's accusatory glare. "She's _your_ mother-in-law."

"Yes, but she's _your_ mother!"

A gasp sounded.

Amy, Rory, the Doctor, and River all turned around to look at the Tenth Doctor, Rose, Jackie, the baby, and Pete who seemed to have gone forgotten momentarily. It was Jackie who had gasped and Amy was struck that even though she was raising an infant, she still had enough energy to put on so much blue eye shadow.

"Mother-in-law?" Jackie repeated, comforting the sleeping baby in her arms as though trying to put her own mind at ease upon hearing this. "What d'you _mean_ 'mother-in-law?' She can't be more than thirty!" she said, jerking her head towards Amy.

Amelia's jaw dropped. "_Only_ thirty?"

It was Rory's turn to jump in. He stepped in front of Amy before she could go into an outrage, pushing her out of the way and forcing her to plop down on the couch. "What she means is that River's our daughter." There was a general sound of surprise across the room, but Ten's eyes widened in understanding.

"So that makes River my—…_his_… his _wife_," he said, astounded.

Eleven stood, rushing to Ten and Rose and taking both of their hands in his. "Oh, yes, lots has happened in the last, um…" he paused, mentally calculating. Unable to come up with an exact number, he continued, "In the last few years."

"But it wasn't just a few months ago that you—that you said good-bye," Rose said quietly.

"Ah, well, yes, that'd be the time travelling factor of this little _accident_. However, I'm very happy to see you, Rose Tyler. It's been too long." He grinned, shaking her hand again while she stared at him with a hint of a smile on her lips.

Something beeped from within the Doctor's pocket and he jumped. He pulled out the fabric defribullator and the screen was blinking with words flashing across it:

_DANGER_

"Oh, I just love a 'danger' sign, don't you, Doctor?" River asked, standing up and looking over his shoulder at the device. She pushed him out of the way and shook hands with Rose. "Professor River Song, like I said before. Archeologist and his wife," she jerked her head at Eleven. Suddenly she did a roundabout on her heel and clapped her hands together. "Well, let's get started on the problem at hand, shall we? Doctor, would you kindly explain?"

River went back and sat on the couch, scooting next to Amy. Rory sat down on her other side and swallowed nervousness.

The Doctor nodded. "Ah! Yes. What I was _getting to_ before _someone_ interrupted me." He also went and sat down next to River, the couch becoming overcrowded though he didn't seem to notice. "So," he began, becoming serious, "there are currently two versions of me in this parallel universe. One is running around out there, doing I don't know what or for what reason. The other is sitting here before you all. What we _need_ to do—what I am morally obligated to do—is find the TARDIS and leave. Me, Amy, Rory, and River—we all need to leave."

The Tenth Doctor piped up after a long while of silence. "But… shouldn't we see what the future version of you wants?"

Eleven smiled. "Precisely what I was getting to. Don't you just love two Doctors in the same room?" he asked, genuinely pleased with himself (himself being his own self and also the human version of him).

Rose grinned despite her unaddressed feelings towards River. "It's actually quite fun. I'd like to see the two of you in action together."

Ten laughed, throwing his head back. "Good Captain Jack isn't here to have heard that."

Rose fed off his laughter and choked on one of her own. "Didn't he say after he left he'd give anything to see—"

"Whoa!" Eleven interrupted with a nervous air. "Whoa… Not everyone needs to hear that."

Ten and Rose burst out in laughter and Eleven continued with Amy and Rory looking utterly confused.

"Anyway, I want to find out what the future version of me is doing here. However, we can't stay for too much longer because if we meet—if we even _make eye contact_—the universe will begin to fall apart around us. Crossing my own timeline is one of the most dangerous things that could come of this—it _cannot _happen."

The beeping from the fabric defribullator had not ceased all the while and as the Doctor went quiet the noise became apparent again, bordering on obnoxious. He held it up to his face with a scowl on his lips. "Yes, _I know_, be quiet." He pushed a button on the side and the beeping stopped. "Thank you."

"So," Rose said, in much better spirits apparently. "What do you want us to do?"

Eleven grinned up at her with a goodhearted laugh.

"I want us to _run_."

. . .

Jackie shook her head. "_No_, no, no, no. Count me out. I'm not doing any running with any of you."

Eleven rolled his eyes at the woman's theatrics. "We weren't expecting you to, Jackie. Nor you, Pete, but you can come if you like."

"No thanks, Doctor. I've got to look after Jackie and Tony." He put his arm around his wife and they looked like the perfect picture. Eleven took a snapshot with his mind in that instant, but quickly got back to business.

He stood, rubbing his hands together in gleeful anticipation of the coming adventure. "Right! Now it's just me, other me, Rose, Amy, Rory, and River. Party of six!" Without any further words, he walked right out the door, throwing it wide for his followers. "See you three later, then!" he called behind him, addressing Jackie, Pete, and little Tony.

Everyone else made haste to go after the Doctor, each tumbling over each other as they squeezed through the doorway.

* * *

><p>Rose and Ten were behind everyone else. Rose was watching him as he kept his eyes on River, squinting against the light as a salty breeze ruffled his hair. She followed his gaze and bit her lip. Rose moved closer to him and entwined her fingers in his.<p>

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him.

He looked down at her, coming out of his mind. "Oh, nothing. It's strange though, don't you think? Me being married?"

Rose's heart skipped a beat, but she was quick to recover. "What do you mean? D'you think it's really that strange?" She brushed some hair out of her face.

"Dunno," he replied thoughtfully. "I just never considered it."

Rose was sure that he wasn't making any connections to their relationship; the Doctor had quite a few things to learn about the human race still—or at least this version of the Doctor did. Maybe the one up ahead of them had more of an idea of domesticity. Maybe that was why he was married.

"Rose! Doctor!" the Doctor called from ahead. The two of them raised their brows almost simultaneously, though no one noticed. The Doctor turned around, beckoning them to come forward with his entire arm. "We need to split up in search parties and you two know the place best."

* * *

><p>Ten ended up with the Doctor and Amy while Rose became responsible of Rory and River—which the Doctor immediately dubbed the 'R Team' because, "<em>Who doesn't love alliteration?<em>" 'The Doctor Team'—"_Sorry, Amy_"—would go look around town while the 'R Team' was assigned the less urban areas, such as beaches, parks, et cetera, et cetera. At exactly nine o'clock (if no lead could be found), everyone would meet back at Ten and Rose's favorite café. If there _was_ a lead, however, everyone was to rendezvous in the middle of Central Park at the fountain.

"So long, R Team!" Eleven called happily, waving them off. He turned to Ten and Amy. "Now, we stick together. No matter what happens, we remain a group. Except for this moment— Amy, go collect firewood or do something away from this spot. I need to speak with the Doctor alone."

Amy looked confused. "I don't get it. Why."

He rolled her eyes at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "_Because_. The Doctor and I need to speak about Doctor-y things. Catch up on old times. Go… walk over that way a bit—but _stay in my line of vision_. I can't be losing you within the first five minutes of this investigation."

Amy clenched her jaw stubbornly, but agreed when Eleven used his '_Please, Mummy_' face. "Fine," she said. Amy turned around and went to lean against a tree a good distance away. "But I still don't see why I had to end up with _both_ Doctors," she muttered under her breath as she left.

Once she was gone, Eleven looked up at Ten. "Now," he said, entirely serious, "River died—you know everything: how it happened, why she did it, and how we 'saved' her."

Ten nodded solemnly. "And she doesn't know." The question came out as a statement.

Eleven made a noise of agreement. "No, she has no idea. It's a terrible thing, knowing when you're going to die... like getting your jacket caught on a jagged piece of a fence. It's wanting to go forward but being stuck in the same place and knowing that when you remove your jacket, there will be a hole where the bit caught it: an unchangeable fate, but heartbreaking. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone I—anyone _we_—know. So River can _never_ learn about it. Please."

"I understand," Ten said.

The Eleventh Doctor's smile returned and he clapped Ten on the arm. "Lovely. Now. _Amelia!_" He waved his arm at her and she came loping back, covering the distance easily with her long legs. When she reached him, the happiness and excitement returned to him when he said, "_Geronimo_."

Ten looked confused for a moment before he caught on. "Oh, is that the catchphrase now? Geronimo," he tried, tasting the word. "I like it." He looked to Amy. "Mine was _allons-y_. French."

Amy actually laughed with both Doctors on either side of her, watching her expectantly as the Doctors did when they had their companion by their side. She looked at them and smiled. "Let's go, then."

A chorus of mixed sounds of _Allons-y_ and _Geronimo_ echoed around her and they took off into the fast-fading evening to find the third Doctor.

* * *

><p><strong>This fandom is good about reviews, which I really appreciate. I'm sorry that I'm so slow on updates, but your feedback keeps me going. Hopefully chapters will come along more quickly now as I've finally finished the entire outline for this story; I'm taking this fic very seriously now.<strong>

**Anyway, review!**


	7. The Search

Ten-point-five's eyes were downcast and dark as The Doctor Team walked down a relatively busy street, passing little shops and restaurants. He was thinking of Professor River Song's inevitable death. While it had happened to him before, it was difficult for the Doctor to comprehend how a woman so alive and clever would die—he had never met anyone more brilliant. To add to that, the lingering thought of how the woman was his would-be future version's wife was pressing on him. He heaved a heavy sigh and looked up from the sidewalk to take his mind out of his own ponderings.

Amy and Eleven were further up and he could hear them discussing Rose. Eleven was telling Amy the most wonderful things about Rose and Ten felt a pang of jealousy; that Doctor was the one she had gone on adventures with—the one she had fought off monsters with. What if with the new Doctor around, Rose realized what she had lost the day the Tenth Doctor gained a double?

Domesticity had not suited Ten very well at first. Outside the Tyler household he went by John Smith, a ridiculously plain and boring name. Rose didn't agree, though. She said it reminded her of when they traveled together—but she wasn't really talking about _them_. She was talking about _him_. That lovely new Doctor who had a Sonic Screwdriver and flew a TARDIS. All he—John Smith—and Rose Tyler had done was change Tony's diapers and cook each other dinner. They were like Tony's second parents.

Speaking of parenthood…

"Amy?" he said loudly to catch the wild woman's attention. Her hair whipped around as she stopped her sporadic pattern of excited walking and turned to look at him.

"Yeah?"

"That River, she's your daughter?"

She nodded with a bit of a smile. Now that they were working together, she had stopped trying to intimidate him. "Yeah, why?"

Ten frowned deeply and cast a look at Eleven who had also paused to survey him and Amy converse. Eleven caught Ten's glance and shook his head marginally, a worried glint in his eyes. Ten did not back down and Eleven could see it in the way the man's mouth was set so determinedly. He knew what Ten's intent was.

"You can't."

"She deserves to know," Ten retorted calmly.

Amy was confused. "Know what?" She turned to Eleven. "What is it, Doctor?"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter," he replied secretively. He put his arm around Amy and made to take her away, but she pushed him off and turned back to Ten, an expression similar to Ten's on her face. The Time Lord must have known his companion well, because he backed off once he saw the way her eyes sparked and how her lips frowned slightly as her jaw clenched. He put his hands over his face and then ran them through his hair.

"Doctor, it _does_ matter," Ten-point-five returned. "I'm human, I _know_. That was always my downfall as a Time Lord," Ten said, glaring at Eleven. "I needed more empathy. Despite loving a human, I could never really understand what made them so emotional—until I became one. She _needs_ to know." Disregarding Eleven as he stood there with his mouth hanging open, Ten turned to Amy. "River's going to die."

Her mouth dropped and a "_What?!_" escaped before she could help it. But immediately after, that wall she had built around herself and the ones she cared about was up again and her eyes were narrowed slits.

"How could you possibly know that? Who are _you_ to tell _me_ that my daughter is going to die?" She had closed in on him and her index finger was jabbing at his chest.

"Please," Eleven jumped in, trying to pull Amy off. "Amy, stop. He only means well."

She whirled on him.

"What do you _mean_ 'he only means well?!'" she shouted and her fiery eyes were boring deep into his. She saw the look on his face and suddenly her frown became tainted with sorrow instead of full of wrath. Her eyes softened and her mouth fell open in near-horror. Quieter this time, she said, "Doctor, what is it? What's going to happen to Melody?"

Eleven saw the understanding in her and pulled the woman into a tight hug.

"It's all right, Amy. I didn't want you to find out; she's you daughter, after all. You shouldn't have to carry such a heavy burden."

"What happens?" she asked, moving back from him to look her Doctor in the face.

He seemed to hesitate before answering. "We meet in the wrong order." Amy nodded. "The first time I met her, it was before you. I was in the fifty-first century in the largest—and emptiest—library in the universe. The carnivorous Vashta Nerada were living in the shadows; they were what had forced the library to save consciences of patrons in files and that was why the library appeared empty. Millions of people had been archived into the program and, to release them, someone needed to activate the interface, initiating a connection.

"The system was powerful—too powerful to anyone but me to control. River sacrificed herself for a younger version of me. She recognized who I was despite my old face." The Doctor nodded toward Ten. "He was there—that's why he knows." He looked down at Amy's tears. "No! But we saved her!"

Amelia held back her frown as she looked up at the Doctors. "'Saved her?'"

Ten replied this time in a calm manner, nothing like his excited boyish bravado he usually wore. "We put her into the same program and she's there now, at peace. Her consciousness isn't really dead."

"So could we go back and save her?"

"No," he replied. "There's no way to get her back now. I'm sorry, Amy. We all die—even I'll be gone someday. But I can promise you, River's time is not even halfway through. You can tell so from her diary; it's only one-third filled up."

She looked down at the ground silently instead of at her raggedy man for a long time. After five large tears had rolled from her eyes, she looked at Eleven in his tweed jacket and then to Ten in his blue pinstripe suit.

Wiping her face, she said with the hint of questioning, "She can't know."

Both of them shook their head.

"And if she did?" Amy asked, becoming her stubborn self once more.

"She'd go mad," replied Eleven.

His mother-in-law sighed and already he could see the effect the secret had on her. "Then she won't ever hear of this."

* * *

><p>It had been a lie.<p>

A twisted truth, but a lie nonetheless.

River's diary had been one-third full, yes. But that was the version they had seen last. Previously, the Eleventh Doctor had met a version of River whose diary had been almost completely full sans several final pages. The deliberate untruth had consoled Amy, though, and that was what mattered.

"Doctor!" the younger version of himself loudly said. He was pointing at something in the gutter. The Doctor stared at it—it didn't look like anything of great import. Something faded and red, covered in mud and surrounded by trash where it lay in the damp on side of the street.

Ten went to retrieve the article. He picked it up and held it from the end so it could dangle in front of their eyes for all to see. There was no mistaking what it was; he saw one every day of his current life—

"Oh my God," Amelia said, taking the piece of dirtied cloth from Ten's hands. "Doctor, it's your bowtie."

He held out his hand for Amy to place it in. She did and the moment it came into contact with his skin, the Doctor felt a buzz flow through his veins that could almost be described as an electric thrill running through his body. He grinned. Temporal disturbance _was_ his favorite.

His face was alight in childish wonder again as his focus shifted from the death of his wife to this evidence of his future presence.

"Unmistakably mine," he concluded aloud. The Doctor brought the strip of cloth to his collar and touched it to the bowtie he was currently wearing. No spark. "Good. This isn't the same one I'm wearing… that could have been bad—a hole in the universe, actually. A tear in the fabric of time and space. We'll need to hurry. This universe isn't very stable."

The look on Ten's face said that he had already realized this, but he wasn't as thrilled about it as Eleven was. His jaw clenched. "If a hole is created, our entire reality could fall apart. We would cease to exist."

"Yes, we'll get to that later," Eleven replied flippantly, handing the bowtie back to Amy as he started to move along.

"No," Ten said seriously, grabbing the man's arm, "we need to talk about it _now_. I'm human, Doctor. I haven't got another regeneration—there's not another chance."

People were beginning to stare at them and Amy had taken notice. "Come on, boys," she said. "We'll need somewhere to talk that's more private." She took both men by the arm and dragged them into a nearby café so they could talk.

* * *

><p>They were the R Team.<p>

He, River, and Rose were walking around looking for something. For what exactly? He wasn't sure.

They had searched the beach, the cliffs, and now they were looking in the park. It was getting dark and chilly. Rory just wanted to get back to Amy again.

He looked over to River who was scanning the spot where the TARDIS had landed before with some kind of device. "I'm not getting any readings."

"What does that mean?" Rose asked as she squinted against the fading light to look round the park for any sign of TARDIS blue.

"She wasn't taken by force," River said, the speculation in her voice apparent. "Which makes me wonder…"

Rose looked just about to ask what it was that River was wondering when the sound of the Doctor's ship reached their ears. River's eyes lit up and a smile spread across her face. Rose looked as if she had been blind and now could see as she watched the TARDIS materialize in front of her.

The sound of it landing stopped and the door opened.

"Right," they all heard the Doctor say. "Wrong TARDIS. Which means—"

"Doctor?"

It was him, minus his bowtie. He seemed flustered and when he saw them, his eyes widened. "Wait a minute."

It was definitely the Doctor… but something was off about him. Something in the way the corners of his lips did not go as far as they usually did and the way his eyes looked as though they had not seen a smile in so long.

Understanding washed over River's features and she took a step back from him. Rory and Rose followed suit, knowing that River's knowledge far superseded their own and they would be better off if they did the same. She was looking the Doctor up and down suspiciously.

He seemed to not be able to believe who was standing in front of him. Rory suddenly noticed that the Doctor's hair was longer. "None of you are possible," the alien said. "Well, Rose is, obviously—this is _her_ universe. (Hello, by the way, Rose.) But you two…" He shook his head, closing his eyes and smacking himself on the face which caused Rose and Rory to jump. "I'm dreaming."

He tugged at the ends of his hair in frustration, doubling over and taking in a deep breath. He straightened again, his eyes still closed.

"Oh, you stupid brain, you're being cruel again." The Doctor opened his eyes and saw they were still there. "This _is_ my dream, isn't it? But…" He looked around. "Amy's usually here somewhere."

The trio took another collected step backward.

"You're not the Doctor," River said. "You're not him."

"Of course I am, what are you talking about?" he asked, going along with the theory that this was a false reality created by his subconscious.

"You're a man of a thousand faces, and this is one I've yet to see. You're different. Remarkably so. I can't put my finger on it, but you're not him."

The entire time, the Doctor had been inching his way away from them and now he was standing a yard ahead from where they stood.

"A future Doctor," Rose suddenly said. "He's got the TARDIS you flew, Rory. The one synced to _our_ present time. And then… he came out and said 'Wrong TARDIS.' It's the wrong Doctor, that's what it is," she said boldly.

He shifted uncomfortably under their stares. "You weren't supposed to see me," Eleven said. "But now that you've figured me out, I've got to go find little me and then my own TARDIS. So goodbye." The man looked to the blonde. "I think we'll meet again, Rose. At least, I hope we do. But yes, goodbye."

With that, he bolted away, sprinting to put distance between himself and the others. Both Rose and Rory were too shocked to even comprehend what had just happened, let alone follow him. But River discarded her high-heeled shoes and chased after the man, the skirt to her dress rippling behind her as she ran.

"Alert the Doctor!" she called behind her before she ran out of earshot. Rose and Rory watched her chase him for a moment before she disappeared into the cool evening light.

"So that's your daughter?" Rose asked, staring after her thoughtfully.

Rory nodded. "Yep, that's her."

"Strange woman."

Rory gave a nervous, half laugh. "You've no idea." He pulled out his phone and found a number that the Doctor had programmed into his cell. Pressing the call button, Rory brought the phone to his ear and waited.

He picked up on the fourth ring.

"Rory?"

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Okay, well, we saw you—but it wasn't you. Older. Definitely you, but not."

Rose's brow quirked and then she silently held her hand out for the phone. Rory handed it to, silently admitting to himself that she would probably be much more articulate than he was being. She smiled gratefully at him and then spoke into the mouthpiece of the cell:

"Doctor, it's me, Rose. Are you there?"

Silence passed before she heard the unfamiliar voice of the new Doctor reply, "Yes, Rose, I'm here. What's wrong?"

"We… we ran into a future version of you. And you're—different. Not a good different, either." She turned around, hiding her face from Rory as she said the next bit. "Doctor?" Her voice was softer.

"What is it, Rose?" his voice laced with genuine concern.

"Do you remember what you were like when you were fresh from the Time War? Do you remember how dark your eyes were? How you were… detached, almost?"

A pause.

"Yes. I remember."

"It's like that now. River's gone after him." She swallowed uncertainly. "I think we should be afraid."

His reply signified the flurry of thoughts in his head: a discontented sound, but one of approval of Rose. He was lost in upset thoughts, but he forced himself to come out of his mind.

"Very good, Rose… very good. A future me is definitely something to be afraid of. Amy and Other Doctor and I are at La Lune, that little coffee shop, you know it?"

She gave a sound of affirmation.

"Good. Meet us there."

...

Rory and Rose were walking in silence on their way to La Lune, neither one of them knowing what to say. It was dark now and autumn leaves were swirling around near their feet as they went down the sidewalk. The silence was dreadfully uncomfortable for Rory, but Rose seemed caught up in her own head and the mysterious conversation she'd had with the Doctor. Rory knew better than to pry, though; Rose and the Doctor had a special kind of history that probably shouldn't ever be looked into too thoroughly.

"Rory?" she asked suddenly, causing his head to jerk toward her as he gave her his full attention.

"What?"

"Has the Doctor ever mentioned me?"

Rory had been thinking about this. He'd never heard of Rose Tyler… or any other previous companion. So it lead to other questions he had: How many other passengers had the Doctor taken? How important were _any_ of his friends if he never talked about them when they left?

Rose sensed his hesitation and pain flashed across her face before he could deny what had happened. He tried to, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Rose shook her head with a false smile on her face.

"No, no, it's fine. I wouldn't have thought— I mean, he's had so many… I guess I just thought differently. Wait." She halted abruptly and squinted her eyes across the street to a lit up room. "Is that—is that the Doctor?"

She pointed at a window and Rory followed her gaze.

He was sitting at the counter in a diner, drinking something out of a paper cup with his special bendy straw. River was sitting next to him, her lips moving as she spoke intently to the bowtie-less Doctor.

Rose made to join them, but Rory caught her arm in his hand before she could take two steps forward. She turned to look at him with a surprised look on her face. Rory shook his head marginally.

"No. We need to go get Amy and the Doctors."

Rose threw one more look at the diner the two were sitting in and then nodded reluctantly, following Rory as they continued on their way to La Lune Café.


End file.
